'Of course, stories told by people are active constructions of reality. However, they are not arbitrary, nor are the social structures which they are embedded in. More specifically, they make structures more transparent. They offer a methodological approach to the historical practice of people's everyday life. On the basis of a classical methodological controversy of the 20th century, the debate on explanation vs. understanding, the following contribution aims to show the importance that narrations, as 'lay concepts of 'the world' (Habermas), have for the reconstruction of social reality.' (author's abstract)|